Nkansa Shocks with Bronze at European Championships 100m

Belgian sprinter Delphine Nkansa delivered one of the biggest surprises of the opening day at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham, securing an unexpected bronze medal in the women’s 100m final. The 24-year-old clocked a new personal best of 11.06 seconds, finishing third behind British champion Amy Hunt (11.00) and Poland’s Ewa Swoboda (11.02), as reported by Sporza.

The result marks Belgium’s first medal of the championships and came on the very first day of competition at Birmingham’s Alexander Stadium. For Nkansa, the achievement is all the more remarkable given that she only narrowly secured her place at the event two weeks earlier, running exactly the Belgian qualifying limit of 11.13 seconds at the national championships in Kessel-Lo on 25 July, as documented by Sporza.

A Shocked Champion

Nkansa admitted she initially could not believe the result when she saw the scoreboard. “I ran without thinking,” she told Sporza. “When I saw a 3 on the screen after the finish, I honestly thought there must be a mistake.” The Belgian sprinter described herself as “really shocked,” adding: “Apparently I now belong among the best sprinters of Europe.”

Her path to the final was far from smooth. After feeling her hamstrings during the semi-final, Nkansa feared she might not be able to compete in the final at all. “Before the final I was afraid I would injure myself again,” she said. “That’s why I just switched off my head.” The strategy paid off spectacularly, with Nkansa producing a flawless race to throw herself across the line in third place.

The bronze makes Nkansa the sixth Belgian woman to win a medal at the European Athletics Championships, joining the ranks of Kim Gevaert, Tia Hellebaut, Svetlana Bolshakova, Nafissatou Thiam, and Noor Vidts, as noted by Het Nieuwsblad.

A Comeback from Burnout

Perhaps even more remarkable than the medal itself is the journey that brought Nkansa to this moment. Just a year ago, she was contemplating quitting athletics entirely after suffering a burnout. “I ended up in a burnout,” she recalled in a background interview with Sporza. “I really thought about quitting. I thought: stop, it’s pointless. I was afraid to appear at the start, it went from bad to worse.”

After failing to qualify individually for the World Championships in Tokyo in 2025, Nkansa hit a mental low point and began working with a sports psychologist. The results came sooner than she expected. “Since 2023 I haven’t been mentally well,” she said. “I’ve been working with a psychologist for a year, but I didn’t expect to see results so quickly. I even called her after my heat.”

Her progression through the rounds in Birmingham told the story of a sprinter finding her form at exactly the right moment: 11.07 in the heats, 11.09 in the semi-final, and 11.06 in the final - each time setting or matching a personal best.

A Nod to Belgian History

Nkansa’s time of 11.06 carries particular significance for Belgian athletics. It is the exact same time in which Kim Gevaert won the European title in 2006 in Gothenburg - 20 years ago to the day. Nkansa came within just 0.02 seconds of breaking Gevaert’s long-standing Belgian record of 11.04, which has stood since 2006. The bronze medal was also Belgium’s first in the women’s 100m at a European Championships since Gevaert’s triumph, as confirmed by VRT NWS.

The significance was not lost on the sprinter. “My head is actually still somewhere in 2024,” she laughed. “I still have to realize that I ran 11.13, 11.07 and 11.06 today and that I’m now on the same podium as Amy Hunt and Ewa Swoboda.”

What’s Next

Nkansa’s European Championships are far from over. She is scheduled to compete in the 200m on Wednesday, hamstrings permitting, and will join the Belgian Rockets in the 4x100m relay on Saturday. With the bronze medal secured, she believes there is more to come. “That I’m going home with a bronze medal means an enormous amount,” she said. “And the crazy thing is: I feel like there’s even more in there.”

Looking further ahead, Nkansa has set her sights on the Belgian record of Kim Gevaert and the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. “Two years before the Olympic Games in Los Angeles, this is really encouraging,” she said. “I can say it now: I’m back!”